D&D General Jaquaying the dungeon - a term to avoid

[MGibster]

My understanding is that “Gygaxian” just means “like Gygax(‘s approach)”, and can refer to anything from writing style to design sensibility. “Gygaxian naturalism” specifically refers to a sort of pseudo-naturalism used to justify the presence of obviously unnatural fantasy elements in an environment. For example, saying that the Caves of Chaos were some kind of social experiment engineered by a mad wizard.

Ah, that makes sense. To me, Gygaxian just means something utterly ridiculous seemingly designed piss off and or punish players for having the temerity to participate in a module.

 

[Charlaquin]

Ah, that makes sense. To me, Gygaxian just means something utterly ridiculous seemingly designed piss off and or punish players for having the temerity to participate in a module.

It might, depending on how the speaker feels about Gygax’s dungeon design

 

[Reynard]

Ah, that makes sense. To me, Gygaxian just means something utterly ridiculous seemingly designed piss off and or punish players for having the temerity to participate in a module.

And that's why the game became a phenomenon, because Gygax was a horrible monster.

Maybe you should go reread your 1E DMG.

 

[MGibster]

And that's why the game became a phenomenon, because Gygax was a horrible monster.

Ligthen up. While I certainly have no desire to return to AD&D, I had a good enough time with it when I was younger and am pleased as punch to acknowledge Gygax and others for their work creating a new game that's become an enduring classic.

Maybe you should go reread your 1E DMG.

People read the DMG?

 

[Reynard]

People read the DMG?

Point taken. I concede the floor.

 

[Parmandur]

Is it still okay for me to describe a dungeon or other aspect of a module as Gygaxian when it has something completely ridiculous in it?

Gygaxian feels more like a prose style as much as a dungeon design principle.

Since Gygax was, loke, the second or third person to even try writing a published adventure, I'd say pretty much all Dungeons can accurately be called Gygaxian, om the other hand.

 

[Oligopsony]

I much prefer “nonlinear dungeon” and “looping” a dungeon, simply because going with another non-transparent phrase isn’t going to help with anything.

“Gygaxian” means a lot of different things, obviously; “Gygaxian prose” and “Gygaxian naturalism” are separate concepts.

 

[MGibster]

Gygaxian feels more like a prose style as much as a dungeon design principle.

Aw, man. This is like that time I kept trying to make "fetch" happen.

 

[kenada]

The new term is terrible, self-aggrandizing crap. When I want to talk about maps that are designed for exploration, I’m just going to call them exploration-oriented maps. I like Justin’s series on the topic, but I’m not going to use the term.

I thought the original term was a nice acknowledgement of Jennell’s contributions to the hobby, but if she doesn’t want her name on it, then I’m going to respect that and stop using it.

 

[Lanefan]

People read the DMG?

The 1e DMG? Certainly.

Later DMGs? Entirely optional.